


Dark Ages

by TheSphinxDen



Category: Gravity Falls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 03:03:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2412587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSphinxDen/pseuds/TheSphinxDen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gideon grows up, and tries to apologize to his mother. Ultimately, it proves to be too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dark Ages

The hospital stench had followed him in her room, and clung to his jacket like a disease. He hung it up and sat down next to her white bed. The sheets were to be kept unwrinkled at all times, per her request.

"Mother."

To say that Mrs. Gleeful was a skeleton of her former self would have been a mere understatement. With no hair and no life in her eyes to show for, the withered woman slowly cracked her tired eyes open.

"Gideon?"

It was her son, her boy, her miracle child. God, it had been a long eleven years. He was all changed. Bigger, thicker, and even taller. But as round and pale as ever. Pink and brown freckles filled the centers of his checks, and drew constellations across his forearms. Arms that grew completely mighty while he was away, growing up without her care. He wasn’t so little anymore.

"It’s me, momma."

She felt his fingers on her hand and panicked. Her first movement was a weak jerk away from his touch.

"I-I ain’t gonna hurt ya, momma. I promise. I just wanna hold ya."

A silence filled the room, but its weight would be felt like sandbags lining a river edge. Carefully, Mrs. Gleeful accepted her son’s gentle grasp. This felt different. For the first time in her son’s life, she felt a genuine sense of tenderness there.

"I came here…because." Gideon was having trouble getting everything out. The words caught in the back of his throat, played along his tongue like razor blades. How could he make up years of torture to her? He didn’t deserve her forgiveness, but he was here to try regardless.

"Because, I know I screwed up. I was a horrible son to you. I did a lot of bad things. Evil things…" he glanced away as he spoke, unable to meet his mother’s eyes. He spared himself pity for the Pines family, but what he did to his own was unforgivable.

"Ya’ll didn’t deserve that."

Mrs.Gleeful closed her eyes again, and for a moment Gideon was afraid he was going to loose her at that very moment. When she opened them, even if it was barely, he felt relief.

"I knew you were a troubled boy, Gideon. You wanted more than what me an’ your daddy could ever possibly offer you. But we tried. Especially your father…" This, the former psychic knew was true. Bud Gleeful was reduced to a slobbering servant to his son under the pressure to please him. It was only a matter of time before his father cracked under that weight. He couldn’t pursue Gideon’s outrageous desires any longer, and was only very recently on speaking terms with him.

That’s when Gideon learned of his mother’s illness. It was eating her alive.

"I loved you so much, my lil’ baby boy. You were my miracle…" she whispered as she gazed tiredly up at him. Her body was so exhausted from fighting. She didn’t know how much time she had left.

"You know that before I got pregnant with you, they said I would never have children? You were my sign from God. I always wanted a son. A precious little boy that would play with trucks and grow up to give me grandbabies." she laughed. It was sour. "I carried you in my body, but when you were born you had so much trouble. We almost lost you, Gideon. Three times, you died on us. Three times, you came back." Each new word was a struggle.

"That’s when we knew you were special…You were put on this Earth for a reason. So we wanted to give you everything. And we did."

She lost her strength, and Gideon let her hand slip away. He tried to grasp at it again, but it was no use. The light was fading in her eyes. A chorus of buzzing machines filled the sterile air, and the young Gleeful could do nothing now except hold onto his mother as she took her last few breaths.

"I’ve always loved you, baby blue. I will never stop loving you. No matter the deed or the action. I know you’ll get better. I know you’ll do great things."

The last few moments were a blur of grey. Gideon was pushed out of the room by nursing staff. Backwash from the life support machines still hummed in his ears, and bled out from his pores. He simply watched them gather around her body, hopeless for revival.

"Momma…I’m sorry."


End file.
